Property Management Company Startup

[Kiersten Vogt]

I am interested in starting a property management company, mainly for our own rentals but have recently thought "well if I'm going to do it for myself, why not do it for other people too?" I actually really enjoy property management and was a property manager for over 100 units for 4 years with a big corporate company at one point. I actually enjoy dealing with tenants, renting apartments, managing contractors etc. 

My questions are many though. What are rental property owners looking for in a property management company? Do you expect/want monthly reports? In-house maintenance? What are deal breakers when it comes to choosing a property management company?

Also, what kind of insurance do I need for said property management company?

Thanks in advance!

[Kenny Dahill]

@Kiersten Vogt Some of that will be experience and learning the different areas. Not to generalize too much, but each income class has been known to be a certain level of difficulty. Even tbe quality of property makes a difference Lower income can be challenging because they are paycheck to paycheck, might not have technology to pay online, or if it's a bad area might attract bad people. There are also those who simply want to pay and be left alone. I've heard numerous stories about these tenants doing all their own repairs and actually improving the house! Higher income can be challenging because they are needy. Sure it's higher rents but don't expect them to do anything on their own. They'll pay on time but call you for everything, and often understand the components of their lease very well. Middle income is often the easiest. They make enough money that you're not concerned about paycheck-to-paycheck. There's plenty of them so you'll get a lot of applications. They'll do minor repairs or willing to live with its conditions because they know they're short term or it's just part of the deal. These are generalizations. There are classy renters in every income class, there are terrible renters in every class. You will start to learn how much effort each class or area takes and calculate your expected time. Also knowing the condition of the house is important, a new build or renovation is less likely to have issues and more likely to get a better tenant. An old run down property is likely to fall apart and attract less quality tenants.